Alice
by Quadrantje
Summary: About why Alice and Vaughn broke up. Not what you think. SV.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first Alias fic. I saw the season's finale a few days ago and I loved it, except of course those last few minutes. So this is for me, I wrote this as a kind of diversion from that horrible ending. I already knew that it was gonna happen from all the fanfics here, but that didn't make it any better, actually, that made it even worse. However, this is a personal treat for me, to get over it. Maybe it's not the idea most of you have when you think of a fun Alias fic, but I always had a thing for secrets coming out. Okay, here it goes. Oh, and I know some of the things here wouldn't happen on the show, but humor me, okay? And please review._

_This takes place somewhere after 'Salvation', but before Alice and Vaughn break up._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to 'Alias'. No infringement of copyright is intended. No money is being made of this._

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* * *

,,Vaughn." It's the same as ever. One minute she and Vaughn were laughing and talking and the next his phone rings, causing him to switch back to work mode. The conversation is short and Alice can already see what's going to happen next. True to her expectations, Michael bids her a quick goodbye, giving his usual none-commental excuse about having to go to work. How can a simple desk job with the government ask so much of his time? It only takes a moment for Alice to make up her mind. She's had enough of this. She needs to know where he's going. She's fed up with all the secrecy.

As she gets in her car, Michael just drives away. Alice is already driving for five minutes when she realizes he would most likely drive to the Government building and go to his desk there. She would have no way of getting in there and be forced to give up her crazy idea and go home. Then she realizes he isn't going to the building she had met him in front of once or twice, but is heading to the outskirts of the city. Her curiosity rises when Michael turns left and into a side road. The neighborhood she now rides through looks run down and Alice starts to wonder why he's here when he suddenly parks his car. She has enough consciousness to quickly drive her car into another alley so he won't see her, and he doesn't even look in her direction as he quickly makes his way to a warehouse that looks just as shabby as the rest of the buildings. Alice waits until after he's disappeared into the building to park her car and quietly follow him into the building.

Once inside it takes a moment before Alice realizes where Michael went. He's nowhere to be seen, but she hears his voice coming from a little ahead. She sneaks forward to take a peek around the corner. All she sees is some kind of half-cage. She starts to inch towards it, but comes to a halt when she hears a female voice. She's still too far away to hear what is being said. Fleetingly the thought enters her mind that that voice is familiar, but she pushes it aside and continues her advance forward to better hear what is going on. She only has to take a few steps around the corner before she can hear what is being said. Michael is talking again.

,,Okay Syd, this is your counter mission: after you get the disk and are heading back to Dixon, drop it in the second garbage bin you pass in the 'Prinsenlaan'. Someone from the CIA will pick it up there. Once we make the copy, I'll walk by and drop it in your bag."

,,Vaughn, what if Dixon sees you and reports it back to Sloane? He's already seen you twice! I think he's starting to get suspicious."

,,Don't worry Sydney, I'll be wearing a disguise. It'll be fine."

,,All right. I'd better get back to SD-6. My plane leaves in thirty minutes. See you in Holland."

,,Good luck."

Alice understands their conversation is over and quickly runs back to the corner, before Michael or this 'Sydney' see her. Suddenly she's immensely grateful that she decided to wear her sneakers today instead of high heels. She looks over her shoulder once more before vanishing around the corner. The woman is now walking to the entrance of the cage and just before she leaves it she is illuminated by the light bulb above her head. Alice gets one sudden glance at her face before it disappears behind the turn. Her eyes widen and her pulse quicken, but she doesn't stop running. Once outside she runs to the first hiding place she can find. She sees Sydney come out and ducks away as she does a thorough scan of the surroundings before walking to her car and driving off. It doesn't take long for Michael to come out too and follow suit. Then Alice walks back to her car and gets in. She doesn't start the engine however. The adrenaline starts to wear off and the magnitude of what she just heard hits her like a ton of bricks. Michael, her Michael, doesn't have some desk job. He's an agent. A real agent. Going on missions and putting his life in danger. And then Sydney. Or Rita, or whatever her name is. She's a spy.

It takes a while for Alice to calm down enough to drive home. She knows that nothing will ever be the same. What she just heard changes her relationship with Michael. How can things ever get back to the way they were? How will she ever be able to look at Michael and not think about the risks he's taking. The secrets he's keeping. It is different now. She is different now.

* * *

A few weeks later they break up. She tried, she really did, but knowing about Michael's life changed even more than she thought. She just couldn't pretend any longer. She couldn't stand to know that **_he_** was pretending. She never told him about what she heard; they just both decided it was for the best if they split up. It just didn't work out.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello! I'm back from a three-week vacation to France! That's why I haven't updated anything lately. I tried to put it in my user lookup, but my compu was acting up and wouldn't do what I wanted it to. But I'm back now and I've written a few things while being away, which will appear in the following days, once I've typed them up. This is one of those things I wrote, it's not the best thing ever, I'm not really happy with the last few lines, but it's the best I can do. I hope you like it anyway and please review._

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Alice listened carefully before rounding the corner and walking to the caged area. It was a few months after the last time she was here. Ever since that day she couldn't get those words out of her mind. First she had been shocked by their meaning. Then she became curious. Curious as to what it all meant. Who was Sydney? What did she do? Exactly what did Michael do? How deep into this were they? And what about that reporter, Tippin? Had he actually uncovered SD-6 and was forced to remain silent? Or was that name all he had? Or maybe even a coincidence? What precisely was going on? Those questions had been hunting Alice. She had become obsessed with it after breaking up with Michael, now she had lost her only link to that world. Alice was so deep in thought she didn't hear Sydney enter. It wasn't until after she heard her name that she looked up to find a rather surprised Sydney Bristow standing a few meters away, at the entrance of the cage.

,,Sydney?" Upon hearing her name, Sydney furrows her brow.

,,How do you know that name?" Alice was startled, she hadn't meant to say that name, but over the last months the name 'Sydney' had slowly replaced 'Rita' in her mind. 'Rita' was the friendly colleague of Michael's, who had a normal desk job, just like him. But 'Sydney' was the secret double agent that flew to exotic (and less exotic) places to carry out missions. At least, from what she'd heard. She had gradually realized 'Rita' didn't exist. She didn't even know if 'Sydney' was real, or just another alias, but it sounded likelier. Looking at the brunette, she realized she still needed to answer. Should she tell the truth? She could always say Michael had let it slip once. But then there was the fact she wasn't supposed to know this place; how could she explain that? And there was also the feeling that she **wanted** to tell her. Maybe then she'd get some answers to the questions that had been nagging her. So she told Sydney. She told her everything that had happened. She could still remember every word that had been said. The whole conversation was engraved in her memory. When she was done talking, Alice was surprised to see that Sydney was looking relieved.

,,What?" Sydney looked back at her and apparently read her question from her face, for she didn't ask what she'd meant.

,,I'm just glad you saw us and not SD-6." Alice lifted her eyebrows slightly and waited for an explanation, but none came.

,,Why?" She therefore asked.

,,Because they would have killed both of us." All trace of amusement had vanished from Sydney's voice and her face was serious. Alice took a sharp intake of breath, causing Sydney to look at her sadly. ,,That's why we met here. If we were in public, we couldn't even look at each other. This was safer. SD-6 had a whole section to spy on it's own spies." Sydney stared in the distance, her face wiped clean of all sentiment.

,,What is SD-6? Was Mr. Tippin right?"

,,Will? Yes, he was right. SD-6 was part of the Alliance, the counterpart of the CIA and enemy of the United States. They recruited me when I was in college."

,,You worked against America?" Alice couldn't keep the horror out of her voice.

,,Yes. But I didn't know that. You see, they tell their employees that they're working for a secret branch of the CIA. I didn't find out the truth until they killed Danny, my fiancé. That's when I realized I had been working for the very enemy I thought I was fighting against. After that, I went to the real CIA and became a double agent." Alice looked in awe at Sydney, who had just kept going when she lost her fiancé like that, she knew she wouldn't have done that, she wouldn't have been that strong.

,,What about Michael?" She managed to stammer after a few minutes pause. ,,What does he do?"

,,He was my CIA handler. He gave me my counter missions and helped me cope with all the stress. He was my guardian angel." Sydney's face softened a bit as she mentioned Vaughn, but Alice was to deep in thought to notice.

,,And what about SD-6? You keep using the past term, what happened to it?" Said Alice when she had collected her thoughts.

,,We destroyed it a month ago." Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. ,,Sydney Bristow." Sydney said into her cell phone, her voice firm. Alice recognized the tone; it was the same Michael always used when taking a business call. She floated back in thought, not bothering to eavesdrop; experience had taught her there was no use listening to this end of the conversation. In a few moments Sydney would run out and go to work. But that didn't happen. Instead her face split in a smile, which lightened up her whole face, and Alice heard her exclaim 'Vaughn!'. That was enough to draw her attention.

,,No of course not. I was just talking to Alice –

Yes that Alice. –

I'll tell you later. What were you saying? –

They can't make it? Well, I guess it's just you and me then. –

Yeah, bye –

You too –

Just hang up, will you! –

All right, I'll do it. Bye –" Still beaming, Sydney closed her phone and turned back to Alice. ,,What?" She said when meeting her smiling eyes. At the sight of Sydney looking innocently, Alice burst out laughing.

,,You were acting like a schoolgirl with a crush! How long have you two been dating?"

,,Is it that obvious? Geez, and I'm supposed to be a topnotch spy! We started dating a month ago when SD-6 was taken down. And..." The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about everything from the CIA to family. Sydney was thoroughly enjoying having a woman friend she could tell everything. At the end of the day, she had a lot to tell Michael over dinner.

_**Fine**_


End file.
